Tranmere Rovers manager Ronnie Moore believes that his side showed improvement during their 2-0 defeat to Premier League side Stoke City in the League Cup.

The Whites boss said that he was "pleased" with his team's overall performance, and singled out recent signing Tom Hateley for praise.

"There were a lot of things to be pleased about. We changed our shape because if we'd have gone 4-4-2 against them we'd have come off having lost by five or six. We certainly won't play that way on Saturday," he told the club's website.

"Defensively we looked alright and limited them to not too many clear cut chances. The pleasing thing was we looked a lot better. Tom Hateley played well and enjoyed it.

"The crowd were good and stayed with us and tried to get us going. Now we've got a massive game on Saturday, that's our cup final."

Tranmere take on Port Vale at Prenton Park in League One this weekend.